Well, I have finally done it. I’ve gone and painted my topsides. And prepped my hull for a new generation of anti-foul. This is a major milestone for me. Tiare has needed a hull repaint for a number of years, slowly becoming a little more drab with each small knock the tender makes on […]
Painting the hulls – Scrape • Sand • Paint Read More »
The summer heat is ongoing and slows progress down. Fortunately, I am working under the boat and in the shade but still, the humidity and heat takes the energy out of you. Replacing our metal thru hulls and valves with Trudesign Composites. http://www.trudesign.nz/marine. Learn how to remove extremely well stuck thru hulls and drill
Metal thru-hulls replaced with Composite Read More »
Now Tiare is out of the water, I take down our Sillette Sonic Drives to replace the anodes, bellows, shaft seals and clean and fill the corrosion pitting on the lower legs, then give acid washing a go before acid etching and a repaint. Last winter I discovered that the SB side leg had
Introduction But the biggest factor that makes taking kids cruising and the level of success is you. Its how you approach the issues of safety, health, education. And it’s your OWN expectations that are going to influence your life afloat. In my mind, there is no doubt that taking your kids for an extended cruise
Sailing & Cruising with Kids Read More »
Are Catamarans faster?
Are Monohulls more traditional and romantic?
Are Catamarans more expensive to buy and maintain?
Are Cats nothing but a modern floating apartment block or the safest way to cross an ocean?
Can a Catamaran out sail a monohull upwind?
Self-righting, sinking or floating?
Episode Thirteen – Catamaran or Monohull? Read More »
Why give away everything that we had built, for something as unstable as a sailboat?
Episode Twelve – Why go Sailing? Read More »
As usual with a Wharram catamaran this is not complicated. With a few basic tools, a simple homemade (boatmade) tripod and one of the mainsail blocks, plus plenty of humour, it makes for an enjoyable day, well at least for me ! Taiga helps me pull out the motor and the Beast add his
Episode Eleven – Engine out! Read More »
This years winter projects and beaching a power catamaran. I go over what I hope to achieve over the next four or five months aboard Tiare as I get her ready for another season in Japan. Australian cruising friend Graham visits Yuge Island and beaches his Malcolm Tennant power catamaran for a prop clean.
Episode Ten – Another catamaran beached! Read More »
Just a few more days until I fly to Hokkaido and sail a 28 foot Bristol Channel Cutter through the Tsugaru Straights between Hokkaido and Honshu, the main Island of Japan and then head off down the Pacific side of Japan keeping close to the coast so as to avoid the fast flowing “Kuroshio” current
This week we remove the sails, survive two very wet typhoons and I get ready for a 1200 Nm adventure sailing from one end of Japan to the other, Hokkaido to Kagoshima, on a newly refurbished 28 foot Bristol Channel Cutter. The sail from Hokkaido to Kagoshima will be a true adventure for me! I
Episode Four – Sails, mooring ropes and Typhoons. Read More »
Plans made a few weeks before certainly don’t hold up to the reality of a strong North Easterly and with the largest typhoon of the year just a couple of days away I make a dash back back to the safety of Yuge Island as soon as the tour finishes.
Episode Three – Last tour of 2017 Read More »
This video is a few days early as I will be away most of next week on tour. This week we have another group of girls onboard, we put down a new mooring (the third leg) build a couple of Fender Boards and then get Tiare ready for next weeks adventure, a sail around the
Episode Two – Getting ready for a cruise Read More »
Tiare is beached for a few maintenance jobs that can only be done out of the water. I learn the meaning of patience and we also make her ready for a lunchtime cooking group. At the end of the week I start getting ready for putting out a “third leg” on our mooring. Tiare is
Episode One – We beach the boat! Read More »
Early 2017 saw 11 Canadians cruise Japan’s Inland Sea for six day/ seven nights on board our 55 foot Wharram Islander catamaran.
2017 Bluewater Cruising Association (BCA) Sail Japan Tour Read More »